Snapchat ads enjoy warm reception from users, says commissioned study

Snapchat users are reacting positively to the photo messaging app’s new video ads, according to a new survey commissioned by the company.

Sixty percent of respondents said they liked the video ads that are integrated into Snapchat’s ‘Our Story’ posts and 44% said they liked ads that featured within ‘Recent Update’ feeds. However, the survey didn’t ask respondents why they preferred one ad type over the other. For the non-17-year-olds out there, Our Stories lets users located at a specific event post snaps into one branded space.

According to Millward Brown Digital, who conducted the survey, Snapchat’s ads compare favourably with generic smartphone ads. The researchers conducted a study earlier in the year which claimed 17% of people in the US liked seeing regular mobile ads. The Snapchat survey also found that 7% of people who saw the app’s ‘Dragon Age: Inquisition’ ad were more likely to buy the videogame than those who had not seen the ad.

Snapchat ad for the film ‘Oujia’

Snapchat is just one of many rapidly growing messaging platforms out there that are beginning to weave advertising into the mix, such as Line, WeChat, Tango and Kik. Such platforms should be a natural channel for app advertisers, but not everyone is taking the same approach. Japan’s Line is relying more on paid content, such as emoticons, along with pushing its own gaming eco-system, WeChat has backed away from in-stream ads for now but allows ad units appearing on the pages users follow. Tango meanwhile has signed-up with Twitter/MoPub, offering app install units, while Kik lets advertisers create their own branded stickers and Kik ‘cards.’